San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: PrecisionMed, Acutus, & More

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It’s been a light week for new developments among San Diego’s biotech and medical device companies. Here’s a very quick rundown.

—PrecisionMed, a Solana Beach, CA-based supplier of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), said it has begun to enroll up to 2,000 donors in an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry. The ALS Registry would be used in the discovery and validation of biomarkers for neurodegenerative disease. The 18-year-old company says it provides accurately annotated human biological material to customers that include nearly every major pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, as well as numerous academic, and government research institutions.

—Acutus Medical, a San Diego startup developing an electrophysiological mapping system to help treat patients with irregular heartbeats, has raised $2.5 million of a planned $5 million round of debt, rights, and securities, according to a recent regulatory filing. The company raised about $5.5 million last year from investors that include Index Ventures and London’s Advent Venture Partners.

—Thomas, McNerney partner Pratik Shah discussed his decision to move last year back to San Diego, along with the firm’s life sciences investments, in an interview with Padma Nagappan published by U-T San Diego. As we’ve previously noted, the venture firm has sunk a total of close to $100 million in the region, including Tioga Pharmaceuticals, SG Biofuels, Zogenix (NASDAQ: ZGNX), Ocera Therapeutics, Cebix, Auspex Pharmaceuticals, and now-defunct Altair Therapeutics.

Bruce V. Bigelow is the editor of Xconomy San Diego. You can e-mail him at bbigelow@xconomy.com or call (619) 669-8788 Follow @bvbigelow